One example of an electrical connector mounted on a circuit board is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-236226 wherein the electrical connector comprises a pair of matable electrical connectors mounted on a circuit board. One of the connectors contains male electrical contacts which are mounted within a housing. The male electrical contacts are formed by bending metal plates into what is substantially an "L" shape. The electrical connectors must be soldered to the circuit board. Accordingly, the work of mounting the connectors on the circuit board is troublesome. Furthermore, the tines of the male electrical contacts must protrude to the outside of the housing in order to allow confirmation of the soldering, as a result, the mounted dimensions of the electrical connectors are relatively large.
Another example of an electrical contact of a type which resiliently engages the circuit board is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-43279. However, the electrical contact is not a male contact; furthermore, the housing in which the contact is accommodated has relatively large dimensions, and the number of parts is also large so that assembly is difficult and time consuming.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical contact, which is caused to make resilient engagement with circuit pads on a circuit board, which is easy to assemble and which makes it possible to obtain highly reliable electrical connections, and which makes it possible to minimize the dimensions of the housing in which the contact is accommodated.